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Flood Control

Dedication Ceremony for Edward MacDowell Dam - July 28, 1950Congress authorized the construction of the "West Peterborough Dam" on June 22, 1936, through the Flood Control Act of 1936. Many floods and natural disasters hit New England and the rest of the country destroying residential and industrial properties. Congress enacted the US Army Corps of Engineers to design and construct the dam between March 1948 and March 1950 at a cost of $2.01 million. 

On July 28, 1950, the dam was officially dedicated as the "Edward MacDowell Dam" in honor of this significant figure in the history of American music.

Edward MacDowell Dam is located on Nubanusit Brook. The dam protects Peterborough and other communities downstream and is part of five flood control dams in the Merrimack River Basin. The Dam has prevented an estimated $9.3 million in flood damages to date.

 

Spillway discharge in April 1987The dam has a 4.2 billion gallon capacity. If this capacity is exceeded during a major flood event, the water will go over the spillway located 4 miles upstream. The flood waters then flow through Ferguson Brook into the Contoocook River, by-passing Peterborough. Since construction of the dam in 1950 this has occurred only once, during the record high water in April 1987. 

 

 

 

Photo of high water behind dam in October 2005.Hydrologists and engineers in the Reservoir Control Center (RCC) in Concord, Massachusetts, make flood control decisions for all of New England  based on data collected from many sources, including USACE Park Rangers and the National Weather Service. The highly sophisticated "Automated Data Collection System", relays lake and river levels and weather conditions to the RCC computer system via the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite. 

 

 

 

Reservoir Regulation Map of New EnglandWater flow is regulated through the dam by opening and closing the steel gates in the gatehouse. MacDowell Dam has three gates each weighing 4 tons. The project staff lower the gates to hold back flood waters behind the dam when the Contoocook River and the Merrimack River reach high levels. When these two rivers return to normal flows, the gates are raised enough to allow the water behind the dam to return to its normal pool elevation.